Welcome to my greenhouse ... and the window has slipped again.........
which is not good ..but my clever husband has done a temporary job on it and the rain is only coming in a very little bit now . He promises to do a proper job of it some time soon ... or as the Cornish say " dreckly " !
I promised I,d show you my mostly cacti and succulents greenhouse . Enjoy !
Through the dirty windows ( which act as a natural and organic method of protecting the cacti from the blazing midday sun ) we can see the tangle of sprawling Epiphyllums in front of the trellis ..they are on the North side of the greenhouse which is also shaded with green windbreak mesh ....they like it warm , humid and very shady ,
Another view , I think we can just about see Aloe ferox which has now been dragged outside for the Summer ...it has a broken leaf resting on the surface ,been there for three years and still looks green , I am going to pot up and see if it will take root or develop pups .
There are Pregnant onions which my botanical brother Martin gave me . Agave medio picta alba..actually two , of one which will be for Martin in exchange .
There are the two cuttings sent to me by Dave from the British Cactus Society Forum in exchange for Shlumbergera opuntioides . These are Winterocereus colademononis and Winterocereus aureispinus .
On the table are veg seedlings which have now been moved out ..its nice to be able to get in now that Spring is here and I love to come in ,open the roof window and see how everything is doing .
My collection of weird plants has been badly neglected over the last two years while I,ve been poorly.
Thankfully cacti can hang on though , little water storage beings that they are !
I,m gradually re-potting and pampering each one .
Beschorneria , Aloes, Aeoniums , alien looking Euphorbias which might have come from Mars , Echinopsis of different types .
Here are Winterocereus aureispinus the beautiful golden one and the Winterocereus colademononis the fabulous Monkey Tail Cactus !
These are the cuttings most generously given to me by Dave of the British Cactus and Succulents Society , in trade for some of my Shlumbergera opuntioides cuttings from a plant that I grew from cuttings that he most generously sent me in the first place , two/three years ago I think . I will post a picture of the Schumbergera Opuntioides next time......I seem to have forgotten to add it today sorry ..but it is a very interesting plant being sort of half Shlumbergera and half opuntia ...and quite rare too .
Echinopsis huascha - the red torch cactus... a cutting from my botanical brother Martin ..look...it's had babies ! I look forward to seeing this in flower one day maybe .
Epiphyllums are my favourites and this is a poor old Selenicereus chrysocardium , which has been hanging in my North facing bathroom window .
It is very fussy about where it wants to live ..along with the aforementioned neglect situation that has been going on . This one has not been so happy about that !
So I,m going to really pamper this , divide it up ,new hanging pots with attached saucers (from Lidl's supermarket in Hayle ) and beautiful fresh compost and we'll see how they do now .
They are looking better already ..those other two little pots are cuttings from very tatty Epiphyllum "Clown"..I never throw away the pieces after tidying the Epies up , they will become cuttings to give away to friends .
Selenicereus chrysocardium from forests of South Mexico .Also known as Golden Heart Cactus and Fern Leaf Cactus ..but I call it my Whale's Tail Cactus ,as that is what its leaf shape looks like to me .
Dont forget to put the name labels in ( message to myself )...even I have trouble remembering plant names from time to time . Martin this one will be for you in exchange for the beautiful green Aloe you gave me....see picture a bit further down below .
I haven't seen this Selenicereus chrysocardium in flower . It is a tricky one ! It needs alot of space too .
Here is a lovely pink flowering one .
I grew this from seeds that Terry Hewitt had taken from Epies that he was crossing and experimenting with ,just before he sadly passed away .
As a matter of fact the Selenicereus chrysocardium also was a cutting that I bought from him at Hollygate Cactus Nursery .
Look out for his books , they are brilliant !
I wonder what this one should be called ?
Crassula " Buddha's Temple " is flowering away in it's golden pot .
Lophophora williamsii very , very slow growing . The sacred Peyote from the Chichuahuan Desert .Used in Sacred Rituals by some indigenous American Indians .
I,ve had this one for over twenty years....it has a long tap root ,needs to be in a long pot . It regularly flowers at about middle of May here in my greenhouse in Cornwall England .
It has just surprised me with another pink flower .
Opuntia violacea with its purple tinged leaf pads..another one looking a bit sun scorched and in need of re-potting ......Lordy !... Its so big now...going to be a devil to handle that one again !
...and this is " the blob " it once had a pretty leafed vine growing out of it which would die back and then grow again in the Spring..but then one year the vine didn't appear ...but " the blob " is still green and so therefore still alive . I water it occasionally ,but no vine..and I,ve lost it's label ...sigh ... Anyone got any idea of what " the blob " might be ? and how I might wake it up again .
Another sweet little yellow flowering cactus..see the photo below for the name on the label .
The lovely rooted green Aloe cutting , given to me from Botanical Brother Martin .
I have so many wonderful things to show you in my greenhouse ...
.......but that is all for today ! Be glad for the rain refilling the water butts !
Do check for leaky windows !
